# Lateral+ vs Critical Friend

The clearest difference is update cadence: Critical Friend at every 2 days against Lateral+'s every 5 weeks. Lateral+'s advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Lateral+ sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Critical Friend sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Lateral+ ships an update every 5 weeks, Critical Friend every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Lateral+ | Critical Friend |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 2 days** |
| Size | 95 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 26.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lateral S.A.C](https://appshunter.io/developer/1513190423) | [Matthew Phillips](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887048391) |

## What reviewers say

### Lateral+

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lateral-plus/id1554979975)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium | $89.99 | per year |


### Critical Friend

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/critical-friend/id6760961503)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Critical Friend Premium | $5.99 | per month |
| 20 Extra Conversations | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Lateral+ free?

Lateral+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Critical Friend free?

Critical Friend is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Lateral+ or Critical Friend have ads?

Neither Lateral+ nor Critical Friend shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Lateral+ or Critical Friend?

Lateral+ ships an update every 5 weeks, and Critical Friend every 2 days. Most recently, Lateral+ was updated on October 7, 2026 and Critical Friend on October 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*